Tropea is a small town on the eastern coast of Calabria. It is known for its historic center on the cliffs, beaches and popular red onions. Built on a former Byzantine cemetery, the 12th century cathedral houses marble sarcophagi and a painting of the Virgin of Romania, protector of the city. Nearby there is a lookout with a view of the hills. The ancient church of Santa Maria dell’Isola stands on a rock overlooking the sea.

he sanctuary stands on the homonymous rock in the vicinity of the town of Tropea. It is probable that the rock of the island was inhabited, around the VII-VIII century, by hermits. For many years it belonged to the Basilian monks and from the eleventh century the Benedictine monks lived there. It was Roberto the Guiscardo, the Norman duke, who wanted the passage from the Greek to the Latin rite, around 1060.

It was built around the twelfth century by the Normans. During the seventeenth century, the building was transformed into a baroque style and stretched 12 meters. He suffered a lot of damage because of the many earthquakes and had numerous restorations. The interior houses the icon of the patron saint of the city, the Virgin of Romania, the work of a pupil of Giotto, dating back to around 1230 and of oriental origin.

The view of the sighs … “A terrace at the end of a street, with a railing on two sides, free your gaze towards the horizon. As a gash opens up between the bare walls of the buildings that, offended by the violence suffered, turn their backs on them, raising their curtains by walling up the few windows.

On March 19th, in honor of Saint Joseph, a traditional festival is celebrated with a lunch offered to the devotees, two processions among the Holy Masses, musical groups during the evening and fireworks.

On March 23rd every year in the “Contrada dell’Annunziata” there is a great fair, with itinerant traders from all over Calabria and also from outside the region that display unobtainable and extravagant items, animals and typical products.

Good Friday, at dusk, an evocative procession crosses the streets of the city. The procession opens a large burnished banner. A barefoot man with a crown of thorns on his head raises a large black cross with a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows behind it. Women follow the statue of the Madonna singing the “lamentations”, songs and ancient lullabies.

On 3 May we celebrate I tri da ‘Cruci. The Pro Loco Tropea, together with a specially constituted committee, takes care of the organization of the event – which incorporates the typical games of popular festivities, such as the contest of the sacks, those of the pasta or the pignatte.

On August 15th, on the occasion of the feast of the Madonna dell’Isola, an evocative sea procession is organized.

In December, the Pro loco organizes a representation of the living nativity scene with actors who interpret ancient crafts. The representation is made more realistic by the scenery and the presence of animals in the flesh.